PREP ATHLETES WON'T BE TESTED FOR DRUGS IN STATE

Preliminary approval for random testing of New Jersey high school
athletes next year has not sparked much interest from Maryland
athletic officials to follow the Garden State's lead.

"We looked at that quite a few years ago and we studied it to see if
there was any merit to it, and we determined that there wasn't,"
said Ned Sparks, executive director of the Maryland Public Secondary
Schools Athletic Association.

On June 7, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
finalized a plan that would randomly test a portion of athletes who
compete in state championship games.

New Jersey would become the first state to implement such a policy,
which comes at a time when Major League Baseball is under intense
scrutiny for its players' use of performance-enhancing drugs.

The prime target for the plan proposed by former Gov. Richard Codey
is illegal steroids, but athletes will be tested for around 80
banned substances.

College athletes have been tested for illegal or banned substances
by the National Collegiate Athletic Association since 1986.

Several years ago, when Sparks and the Maryland State Board
addressed the issue, they found too many gray areas to proceed with
any type of drug testing.

"The bottom line is - it just became something that we couldn't do.
We are not the NFL or the NCAA or the Olympics," Sparks said. "We
don't want to look like we are turning our heads on it, but the
devil is in the details.

"It was really not a practical or possible thing to do with any kind
of certainty."

Sparks mentioned that the process of collecting and monitoring the
samples would be a major concern for officials.

"There was a study done by the state board, and we're not leaning in
that direction," Sparks said.

While the state association steers clear of drug testing, one
private school, St. Vincent Pallotti, has not.

"We are probably the only school that has random drug testing," said
Rick Diggs, Pallotti's assistant principal and the commissioner of
the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association.

The MIAA governs boys athletics in area private schools, including
Mount St. Joseph and Cardinal Gibbons.

"We do it a couple of times a year. We just take 10 students
randomly and test them. Usually, during each session, we test at
least one youngster for each team. We had some schools that were
pretty surprised that we are doing it," he said.

According to Diggs, the random testing has been a success.

"It has worked great. We have found some kids that were positive. It
requires them to go into some kind of counseling program. They have
to be retested," he said. "Probably two or three have tested
positive. From what I know, it hasn't been anything other than
marijuana. It does not test for steroids."

Diggs said he is not aware of any other schools in the state testing
for drugs, and added that there are no plans for the MIAA to do so.

"It was discussed at a meeting back in January," Diggs said. "But
league policy is to have the schools remain autonomous on that
issue. We have athletic trainers at each school who are looking for
(signs of drug usage). We've left it up to them."

Diggs did say that the topic - and others - will be addressed at the
MIAA athletic directors conference later this month in Ocean City.

Hereford athletic director Mike Kalisz has learned plenty about drug
testing since his 15-year-old daughter, Courtney, began competing in
national swimming meets at age 11 for the North Baltimore Aquatic Club.

Courtney, who won the 200-meter butterfly in the national
championships in April and is ranked eighth in the world in that
event, had four random drug tests in one five-week span.

"She knows it's coming, and she's not going to let any banned
substance stop her from achieving her goals," Mike Kalisz said.
"They pulled her out of a meet and tested her before the awards presentation."

In a similar fashion, testers were waiting by the pool for Kalisz
after she won at the world championships.

There's no letup at home. Officials have waited in the family
driveway until the veteran of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials
returns in order to administer a test.

Her schedule must be known at all times, because even missed random
tests are considered failed tests.

"That's part of our lives," said Kalisz, who has a special hotline
number he can call to get a detailed list of banned substances. "If
she is sick, we are calling that hotline."

When Kalisz heard about New Jersey's policy, he cut out the article
and put it on his office door to make students aware of the problem.

"We're all in the business to educate," he said. "And that policy
will educate kids that, one, it's harmful and, two, it's cheating. I
don't think (testing) will be a problem for most kids, especially in
individual sports.

"I understand why they are (testing), and my initial reaction is
that it's probably a good thing."

Overlea athletic director Bruce Malinowski dislikes the fact that
prep athletes bear the brunt of the scrutiny.

"I realize it's best for our kids," he said. "But if you are going
to drug test our athletes, I want everybody in our school to be drug
tested. If you do the athletes, you have to do the band members, the
kids in the chess club and the national honor society. If you are
not going to do it to everybody, then don't do it all. Don't single
out my kids because they are athletes."